


from sky to sea

by paellaplease



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Breath of the Wild Gift Exchange, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Mutual Pining, One Shot Collection, and a partridge in a pear tree, some alternate universe sprinkled in for good measure, two people parkouring over their feelings so many times yet i never get tired watching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:54:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27898660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paellaplease/pseuds/paellaplease
Summary: six miphavali one-shots to read on a rainy day.I. sky - what revali thinks of in the midst of the galeII. year - a light in the darkIII. jade - something to rememberIV. luck - not without youV. name - a chance meeting on a train to anywhereVI. sea - what mipha thinks of in the midst of her grace
Relationships: Mipha/Revali (Legend of Zelda), Miphavali
Comments: 8
Kudos: 72





	from sky to sea

**Author's Note:**

> for [ajreen](https://ajr-een.tumblr.com/)
> 
> happy botw gift-exchange and have an epic holidays! hope you enjoy it <3

**Sky**

It was well past midnight, the sky dark and cloudless. Keen eyes assessed the view, satisfied with the dazzling pale-green aurora which spilled from the crack in the heavens, arching across the multitude of stars. 

With the frosty breeze of the Tabantha Tundra pushing against his back, Revali fanned out his wings. “You should hold on,” he said to the Zora princess, and in less time than it took to blink—they were in the air. 

Swathes of colour enveloped them in the midst of the gale. Mipha held on fast, arms tightening as the polar lights shifted and blurred like a spinning kaleidoscope caught between the ribbons of the wind. 

Their eyes met once he reached the top of his ascent, cold air filling his lungs as he hovered in the air. The stars seemed even brighter from above, twinkling silently from their perch within the constellations. 

Mipha leaned in, the tip of her nose brushing the side of his neck. Revali forced himself not to think too far into the action, reasoning that this short excursion was all about her wanting a better look at the stars and nothing to do with the fact that they both could finally talk to each other in private. 

Yes. Nothing else. 

_Liar._

Revali felt prickling static underneath his skin. He’d been dancing around this particular thought process for weeks. For him, something as juvenile as a _crush_ was practically unheard of. And here he was: _pining?! Gah!_

They were preparing for war, for Hylia’s sake. This was no time to develop anything relatively romantic for a princess who most likely won’t look at him twice once this was over. 

_Maybe this was a bad idea._

His confession sat at the edge of his beak. The warm thrill of it echoing the memory of when he first gained control of his gale. Funny, he didn’t think anything could ever amount to the adrenaline of mastering the literal impossible. If only his past self could see him now. How embarrassing. 

Initially Revali believed the princess’ demeanour to be nothing more than a well-constructed facade, treating her brusquely just like he would any royal who was born with a silver spoon and nothing else to want for. 

Though with every smile and polite reply, slowly he began to realise that Mipha, perhaps, really _was_ that nice. 

They found common ground in the need to better themselves, and though rough at first, she’d managed to navigate through his banter with ease. She was kind, intelligent, and surprisingly witty. A princess who knew her limits but worked hard to surpass them. 

There was a relief in being close to her, growing beyond the fact that she’d brought him back from near death more than once. With Mipha, Revali felt no judgement. The Zora’s golden eyes saw past the haze of all his mental barriers, treating him with an understanding and respect that he honestly didn’t think he deserved after how he’d acted around her at the beginning. 

Hence, his hesitation. 

Back in the present, Revali glared at the sky, mind reeling for something else to think of. His brain found no such success, coming up blank and circling back to the Zora princess and his useless feelings for her. There was a rightness to being able to exist alongside her like this. To be close enough that he could feel the beat of her heart against his own; see the small grooves in the ruby red of her scales. 

"Mipha…"

"Revali, is everything alright?"

The Rito clamped his beak shut, head snapping back down to look at his passenger. Lost in thought, he'd spoken the Princess' name aloud by mistake. And judging by her equally mortified expression, it seemed she'd made the same error. 

"Please, you first." Mipha said.

“What is it?” He shot back not a second after. _Damn it._

“I insist,” Mipha smiled with her teeth. “You’ve been quiet the entire time we’ve been up here. It’s unlike you.” 

The Rito inhaled, sending a silent prayer up to Hylia in the clouds. A useless action really, given the goddess was probably cackling at his fate at that very moment. An awkward silence followed as he tried to collect his thoughts, the Zora princess patient as ever. _Hylia, she was too good for him._

He found that the words came easier once he steeled himself for rejection, casting his doubt aside and justifying that it would be more efficient to deal with the disappointment later. 

“Where do I begin?”

“Perhaps from the start.” The high altitude must be getting to him. Somehow she felt closer now, enough that he could feel the beat of her heart against his own; see the small grooves in the ruby red of her scales. “What thought sits most prominently in your mind? 

_Most prominently?_

Loving her...felt as innate as the need to grasp for sunlight. As if he’d always meant to find her just as both were born seeking the warmth of a burning star. 

Revali analysed her expressions carefully, feeling his hope grow as the disgust and apathy he was expecting never came to pass. There is something breathtakingly beautiful in the quiet focus Mipha regarded him with, gold-touched eyes hanging on to every word like a precious piece of the sky. 

For a moment he entertains the possibility that she may feel the same way; that somehow her affections for him could span beyond that of acquaintances and comrades. That they could exist together as something else. Maybe something greater entirely. 

**Year**

Slamming her fists against the walls, Mipha sank back down into her waterlogged prison. The sting of laser fire ricocheted through her veins, the memory of fighting and burning still painfully fresh in her mind. 

Over and over, the same final seconds of the Waterblight snapping her precious Lightscale Trident in two repeated itself. The monster had snaked its way into her dreams, not quite finished with tormenting her even in this in-between world she found herself in. 

Lifting her head, she followed the white lines zigzagging across the ceiling, an orange circle punctuating each joint. She’d memorised the pattern by now, the pseudo-constellations ironically her only guiding lights in this new dark world, leaving her with nothing but her thoughts and regrets. 

Five minutes. It took only five for her to be overpowered. To die by the hands of one of Ganon’s soldiers. 

How long had she been here for? Months? Days? Years?

Reality was already slipping around her, her connection to Vah Ruta no better than a melted candle close to burning out. It began when the serpentine tendrils of Malice encased her Divine Beast, overriding its controls and snapping the last of her spirit’s connection to the outside world.

Mipha hissed, a sudden burning feeling at the back of her head. Reflexively, she reached out for her trident, remembering then that it was long gone once her hands met nothing but air. 

Standing up, she shifted her leg behind her, gathering all the strength she could muster in her small frame as she clenched her fists. “Show yourself.” She said, trying to sound strong and not at all drained and terrified. 

In this world she felt no hunger or need to sleep, just an emptiness that came from being trapped in a joyless place that had taken everything from her. 

She missed the sound of birdsong and the bright smile of her younger brother, Sidon. In this place there was no music or laughter, not even the warm comfort of her healing ability to guide her through the gloom. 

“Please don’t mistake me as one of those ghastly Blights.” 

The familiar, saccharine voice echoed in the darkened chamber. 

Mipha jumped, breath hitching. 

In the distance, a single flame ignited, breaking through what was once a pitch black nothingness. It was the first time she’d seen light since her death. 

The Zora princess clutched at her chest, still finding it unusual that she couldn’t feel her heartbeat under her hand. 

Slowly she could see the outline of a wing, then a torso, then a face. Pieces of what was definitely a person encased in a light green glow began to appear, revealing one of the other Champions, Revali, who stood before her looking worn out but nonetheless as indignant as ever. 

“Mipha?” The Rito’s pretty green eyes widened in shock, quickly narrowing again as he leaned forward in suspicion. “If you’re one of those mirages coming to torment me, would you kindly take your leave? Trust me, I’m not in the mood.” 

She pursed her lips, perplexed. “Pardon?”

“Nevermind,” he sighed. 

“How long have you been here?”

“As long as you, probably.”

A sobering silence settled between them, none wanting to admit the truth they both knew. _We lost, Calamity Ganon won. We’re dead and trapped here for eternity— and there’s nothing we can do about it._

Instead, she focused her thoughts to the present. “How did you escape?”

The Rito smirked, his notorious pride showing through as he opened his beak. “I walked.”

Mipha frowned, expecting a more detailed answer. She also noticed he said _walk_ instead of _fly._ What else had Ganon taken away from them? “I see,” was all she could say back, watching Revali grimace at the water dripping from his talons. 

“Is it not water-logged where you came from?” She asked, amused. This was unreal. She was speaking to someone— actually holding a conversation with a person that wasn’t a terrified shadow of herself. 

“No,” he restlessly paced around the area, stopping to look at the ‘constellations’ on the ceiling. “But it was cold, and windy. I thought to leave such a dull place for greener pastures. Though I haven’t made much progress.” He gestured to the darkened area around them and the small waves lapping at their feet. “Exhibit A.”

That managed to pull a small laugh from her. It was...her first genuine smile in a very long time. 

Revali smiled back, waving a wing in the air. “Well, it was lovely seeing you this side of purgatory.” 

He smirked, making a move to walk back into the void where he came from. “But I best be off.”

“Wait!”

The Rito paused mid-stride. He turned back to face her, a feathered brow quirked up. “Yes?”

Mipha inhaled and exhaled, looking him in the eye to show she was serious. _What else do I have to lose?_ “May I...may I go with you?”

The Rito’s gaze moved from hers to the constellations on her prison’s ceiling. He rubbed a wing underneath his beak, pretending to consider her request though the answer was quite obvious. 

The Zora princess grinned when he finally shook his head at his own antics, realising how silly he was being in the context of it all. “If you must, I see no harm in you doing so.”

She tried not to give away her excitement as she walked over to join him by his side. Fiddling with the seams of her blue sash, Mipha already began to feel more like herself. Next to her, Revali walked confidently into the darkness, spine straight and royal blue wings unruffled. 

No longer alone, the two Champions continued into the darkness, the glow of their spirits shining through the endless night. 

“Who do you think we’ll find next?”

“That hulking Goron no doubt. Subtlety is not his forte. His voice is very, ah, distinctive. And never ending. We’ll hear him before we see him.”

“I could say the same about you.”

_“Hey.”_

**Jade**

It was not long before he started noticing small details about her. Trivial, unessential things. Like how she takes her tea black with little to no sugar, or that she bows her head and avoids _all_ attempts at eye contact whenever she’s nervous. She hums when she thinks no one is listening, and prefers to trap spiders in a cup to set them free outside rather than his usual method of disposing them on site. 

The sun was high and sweltering when he spotted her dipping her feet in the pool at Kara Kara Bazaar. Joining her by the water, they sat quietly for a while, the fresh scent of desert flowers in bloom mixing with the sharp aroma of merchant spices. 

“You’re wearing green today,” he remarked, catching the gleam of the Gerudo jewelry hanging from her head and neck. “Why the change?” 

It suited her, though he didn’t have the nerve to admit it out loud. Her red scales contrasted nicely with the emeralds embedded into her elaborate hairpieces, the gemstone cut like the petals of a rose. 

Mipha kept her eyes trained on the pool, making small ripples with the kick of her feet. Shyly, she pointed to his jade anklets still submerged in the water. “Well, it seems to be your favourite colour.” 

She smiled to herself, brushing a finger delicately over one of the necklaces. “And I thought it would be nice to have something that reminded me of you.” 

Not for the first time, Revali felt thankful to be a Rito. 

The cover of his feathers concealed the warmth burning on his skin, the only evidence of a blush being the way he frantically rubbed at the red patterned spots on his cheeks. He shielded his face, poorly hiding his shock in a cough. 

“You’ll be the death of me.” He smiled into his wing, Mipha’s replying giggle making him grin even wider. 

**Luck**

The trident’s teeth shone in the light of the sun, gleaming as it spun gracefully in the hands of the Zora princess. With the flick of her wrist, Mipha pointed her weapon at a silver moblin, unblinking when a foul stench fanned into her face. Her nose twitched, the collective stink of several enemies lingering in the air. 

At the front of the group stood a golden bokoblin, the foul imp waving its stolen Royal Broadsword to the sky as it rallied the members of its party. Unfazed, the princess positioned herself in a defensive stance, knees bent and eyes sharp. 

“Your pack has threatened the lives of my people,” she said steadily. “You must understand why I won’t allow that to continue.” 

The golden bokoblin inched forward, salivating at the chance for more bloodshed. It spat out a harsh sentence in its language, punctuated by a word that was most likely a swear. Mipha frowned, weighing the stakes. Seven against one were not great odds. Though she’d been in worse situations, any chance of survival no higher than 90% was still something worth staying vigilant for. 

Rolling her shoulders, she prepared herself to dodge, brain working hard to predict the first incoming attack. 

_There you are._

She spotted a silver moblin at the rear of the group. The monster raised its spear, growling menacingly with every intention set on murder.

Mipha tried not to feel too alarmed as her eyes followed the edge of the blade skyward. For a split second her gaze wandered to the clouds. “Is that…” 

If she blinked, she would have missed it. It fell from the heavens like a shooting star. 

The monster roared again. In Mipha’s mind, a whisper of doubt cropped up in the shadow of the spear. _Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking_ , she reasoned, preparing— _hoping_ to jump and roll to the side at the right second. 

The tension in her shoulders relaxed a fraction when the beast suddenly froze.

With a loud _crash_ , the moblin fell forward—lifeless, crushing several of its friends in the process. The Zora princess had it in her heart to manage a tiny bit of sympathy, until a voice called out from above. 

“A word of thanks would be sufficient. I’ve reduced your workload down to three.” 

“You have my sincerest gratitude, then.” She replied with no hesitation, a soft smile pulling at her cheeks. The Zora felt a glow of satisfaction at the way Revali’s beak opened and closed, no words leaving his mouth. Eventually he settled on a stiff nod, turning in the air to draw his bow again. 

Mipha ran and lunged, trident clashing against the bokoblin leader’s sword. The little creature confidently leaned its weight forward, grunting when its feet began to slip back in the dirt. 

Taking advantage of this, the princess quickly sidestepped to the right, spinning her trident and slamming the blunted end into the golden bokoblin’s back. With a push, she knocked it into the ground. Mipha was no stranger to opponents underestimating her strength, but there was some thrill to be had in witnessing the moment they realised that they were so, very wrong. 

Wind roared in her ears and like rain, a volley of arrows followed. Spinning her trident again, she took it in both hands, parrying the club at her left. 

With the combined might of two Champions, the fight was over quickly. 

Readjusting her sash, she walked over to Revali. The Rito had landed by the fallen moblin, busying himself by collecting his arrows. Her eyes shone when he faced her, his gaze quickly scanning her form to check for any wounds or scrapes. 

Due to her healing abilities, most would see it as superfluous to confirm her well being given that she would fix any injuries should she ever sustain them. Revali wasn’t one of those people. The Rito found security in surety, not one to leave the welfare of those precious to him to chance.

“I’m glad to see you’re unharmed.” 

Mipha thought it sweet when she caught the way he visibly relaxed. “How did you know?”

He shrugged, pointing one of his dark blue feathers to the stretch of cloudless sky above them. “Right place at the right time. I was flying over the area to pass the hour. Was nearly blinded by the glare of your trident mind you.” 

He smiled wryly in a way that he _knew_ made her heart quicken. Silly bird. “Luck was on your side this day, dear princess.”

Standing on her tiptoes she quieted him by leaning forward, balancing herself by gripping on to his pauldrons. She placed a kiss to his temple, giggling at the way his raised feathers brushed her lips. “Then the answer is simple, if you continue to stick by me, I’ll have all the luck I need.”

**Name**

Revali dug a knuckle into his temple, feeling dizzy after watching the same video for the past five minutes. He kept close to the pole, one earbud in as he split his attention between the audio from his phone and the automated voice announcing their arrival to _Satori Station_. 

In the midst of morning peak hour, the train carriage was filled to the brim, passengers packed like sardines as the doors hissed open and close. He slipped his hand up the pole, making space on the handhold for a woman with red hair that had managed to squeeze herself to the middle of the passenger car. 

Biting back a yawn, he replayed the archery practice session again, the silent carriage and the sway of the train threatening to lull him to sleep even whilst standing. 

_Need to keep that grip technique consistent._

“Ah, excuse me.”

_Body form is off, leaning too far forward._

“Sorry to interrupt.”

_Should I adjust the height of the nock locator again?_

“This might sound very unusual but...”

_Or maybe— wait._

He paused the video, feeling his muscles pull as he straightened his back with a tired sigh. “Can I help you?” 

Vivid, wide eyes blinked back at him. They were very unique, a bright hazel— almost gold even in the morning light. The young woman cleared her throat, pink-stained lips moving as she whispered her question again. “Have we met before?” 

Pocketing his phone, he looked at her properly this time. Taking in the cream blazer, golden eyes and long red hair. He racked his brain for an occasion where they may have seen each other before now, coming up blank. “I’m not sure. What makes you think we have?

“You just have a familiar face. And voice, now that I think about it.” Her face flushed, eyes darting away to stare at the passenger information display. “I apologise. This sounds so sudden and I haven’t even introduced myself yet.”

“It’s Mipha, right?”

Her head quickly whipped around to face him, her small petite nose wrinkling as she smiled. _Cute._ “Yes! So we _have_ met.”

“No, it just says so on your badge.”

Her right hand shot to her breast pocket, the white badge proudly displayed to the whole world. She promptly unpinned it, but it was already too late. 

Revali smirked. “Medical student, huh?” 

“Yes,” she blushed again, flipping the badge in her hand before placing it in her pants pocket. “It slipped my mind to remove it once clinicals were over. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.” 

His green eyes glanced at the window, seeing that the sun was still young in the sky. “Over? The day had barely begun.”

The woman’s smile turned tired. “May I remind you that night shifts exist.”

His mouth pursed, a sympathetic whistle at the edge of his lips before he realised that they were still very much in a train and he wasn’t some ill-mannered oaf. What was he? A bird? “Point taken.” 

Another idea popped into his head, recalling the small coat of arms next to her name. “University of Hyrule?”

“Correct again,” she laughed softly. 

Revali’s eyes shone, a confident grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Then I believe I know where you’ve seen me before.” 

She blinked, curious. “Where?”

“The Archery Hyrule University Championships, of course.” He could feel his chest puffing in pride. “You must have heard of my unbeatable winning streak.” 

Instead of the spark of recognition and immediate adoration he was expecting, Mipha shook her head apologetically. “I’m sorry but I don’t think that’s possible.” 

The train jerked forwards, nearly sending him flying into her. “Whaat? Why not?”

“I don’t follow archery. It’s not exactly one of my interests.” 

“What is then?”

“Fencing,” she replied, a dreamy look in her eyes. 

That brought back memories of a blonde-haired annoyance that he did _not_ want to recall right now. “Okay. Anyway—”

_“We are now arriving at Castle Town Station. Change here for Gerudo, Eldin, and Faron services.”_

Revali exhaled, shrugging his shoulders. “This is my stop.” 

The train came to a stop, doors sliding open. Most of the crowd began to move, a rippling wave taking him along with them. Mipha frantically reached out to him. “Please wait! I don’t know your name.”

“Come watch the next archery competition and you will.” He grinned, turning back around and tossing a jaunty salute into the air as the doors hissed closed. 

**Sea**

Escaped droplets pooled at the edges of the sill as the storm began to pour outside, drenching the fishing village of Lurelin in a thick sheet of rain. The sound of waves crashing outside accompanied by the pitter-patter of rain pulled her into a quiet meditative state. 

Slowly, she adjusted her hold on Revali’s shoulder, unwinding the bandage before getting straight to work. 

She inhaled sharply. The cut was extensive, running diagonally from his shoulder to the small of his back. Most of the closing had been done on the battlefield but now, in the safety of their rented hut, she’d have to dedicate her time to finishing the job and ensuring an infection did not sprout.

Mipha closed her eyes, envisioning the wellspring of healing power running through her veins. 

She thought of the person before her, about how much she cared for him and his well being. She visualised the frayed veins and arteries underneath his skin, the extensive roads and rivers— reconnecting the pathways which kept him alive. 

Revali shuddered underneath her touch, the glow of her grace carrying away the pain until eventually, it was nothing more than fallen leaves drifting down to sea. 

The heavy rain outside continued, the roar of the wind too similar to that of the lynel which harmed her companion in the first place. It was a cowardly strike, one both of them should have seen coming a mile away given their experience. 

_Battlefields will always be unpredictable._

“It’s not your fault,” she said to his back, running a glowing palm over the deepest of the cuts. It will take months for new feathers to grow there. 

“I know.” The blue Rito turned his head to the window, watching the rain fall. “But neither is it yours.”

Mipha paused, hands stilling yet continuing to heal. She’d been with Revali long enough to know he was the type to stubbornly stick to his opinions, always having a rationale ready to back up his claims no matter how many feathers he managed to ruffle in the process. 

She took comfort in knowing then that those were not empty words meant for consolation. He really meant them, down to the last syllable. 

The silence in the room stretched on. Revali most likely kept his beak shut in respect of her focus, but now that Mipha was nearing the tail end of the healing process she found the lack of conversation quite boring. Her thoughts wandered, making her hyper aware that this was the first time she’d seen the Rito without his usual armour.

Backplate and leathers were ruined in battle and were currently being repaired in the Lurelin armoury. His whole back was bare to her now, the muscles, though strong, were quite dissimilar to hers. Swimming and flying required different muscle groups after all. 

Would he find swimming difficult then? How much weight would wet feathers contribute? Could he hold his breath underwater for long? It wouldn’t matter really, all would be solved and enhanced once she completed that armour set. 

She smiled to herself, “I wonder what size tunic you wear…”

Revali jumped as if woken up. “What?”

_Oh no._ Thunder crashed outside. _Did I—_

“It’s nothing, really!” She piped, quickly finishing the healing of the last cut before the glow in her hands dissipated. Her pale cheeks began to turn a cherry red, threatening to match the rest of her scales. “Call it curiosity?” 

“Uh huh.” She could hear the smugness in his voice. The Rito was not taking the bait. 

To her dismay he gingerly turned maneuvered himself to face her. Eventually he had done a half-turn in his seat, his beak just hovering above her head. 

_Pectoralis major_ , a large muscle to lower the wing. _Of course._

He raised an eyebrow as she struggled to maintain eye contact with him. “If this is another Zora custom, we’ve already established long ago that I’m a quick learner. Tell me the history and significance, you won’t need to say it twice.” The lack of her reply made him try again, totally missing the mark this time. “I can gift you clothing as well if you’d like?”

Mipha placed her head in her hands, the rosy pink of her blush spreading down her neck. “N-no,” she stuttered. “I mean yes! That would be lovely, but there’s a deeper meaning. Which I can explain, but not now unfortunately. I’m not making much sense, am I?"

Gently, he reached out to her with both his wings. The Zora princess took a deep breath, watching him from the gaps between her fingers. Gradually, she allowed him to take her hands in his, weaving her fingers around his own feathered ones. 

Revali slowly lowered her hands from her face, his beak curving into a sweet smile. “It can wait then.” 

Mipha nodded in agreement, gasping in surprise when she felt soft, blue feathers wrapping around her, pulling her close. Relaxing into the embrace, she pressed her ear to his chest, the storm but a distant memory so long as she could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. 


End file.
